
India TV (Independent News Service Pvt Ltd) is a Hindi news channel based in Film City, Noida, India. It is a news channel that has appealed to the Indian masses for its unique style of presentation that is targeted at the common man and not at the elite unlike most news channels. It has been criticized by the print media for its 'in the face reporting' however television viewers have lapped it up and the channel's market share shows the shift in the viewer preference from mundane to loud. The channel was launched on May 20, 2004 by Rajat Sharma and wife Ritu Dhawan. The channel is the flagship service of Independent News Service, which was co-founded by Sharma and Dhawan in 1998. Prior to launching India TV, Sharma was a known face on Indian television since 1992, having previously been the anchor of Aap Ki Adalat on Zee TV and Janata Ki Adalat on Star TV. Independent News Service received investment from Fuse+ Media, an entity of ComVentures, a venture capital firm based in Palo Alto, California with over $1.5 billion of assets under management. Further investments have valued Independent News Service at Rs.800 crores.